[kvirtanen]

Hi there,

Does anybody know if the mandatory phone locking can be disabled when changing to the Offline mode? If I remember right, in the older Communicators you used to have a Flight Mode that used to leave the PDA side of the phone open while turning the connections and antenna off (basically what the Offline mode is for).

Why does the phone lock itself when turning to Offline mode when there's a separate 'Lock Phone' option just below it in the Profiles list?

[hendikoischnur]

Hi,

I don´t quite understand your point: The locking mechanism has exactly the same function and reason in Offline (Flight) Mode than in any other: To prevent other persons from using your phone. Offline Mode is a profile just like any other and you say the "lock phone" option is also among the profiles - that is for when you don´t have the auto-lock (after x min) enabled. If you have the auto-lock enabled, it doesn´t matter which profile you´re using.

Regards,

Hendikoischnur

[kvirtanen]

As the name Flight Mode would imply, it's used during flight in an aeroplane. It doesn't lock the phone, but you can use the various PIM and PDA functions of the device safely without distrupting the flight electronics.

Offline mode seems like a renamed version of that function, but it also locks the phone for some reason.

there's a separate function called 'Lock Phone' that locks the phone.

My humble opinion was that the Offline mode shouldn't lock the phone, only Lock Phone should.

think of it like in a computer: disconnecting from the internet and turning off WLAN doesn't lock the computer.

Actually, my initial question was if the locking could be disabled. I guess it can't based on your answer. Am I right?

Message Edited by kvirtanen on 11-Mar-2009 11:57 AM

[hendikoischnur]

Well, I can´t tell with 100% certainty as I don´t own an E71, but my answer would be both yes and no ;-)

The phone locking mechanism can be disabled, of course, but that´s not dependent on the profile "Offline" (which is for flights all right as I understand it).

Does selecting "Offline mode" as a profile immediately lock the phone? That it shouldn´t do, agreed. If it does that, that´s definitely a software error. Try updating the software on the phone or take it to a store in that case. Unfortunately I think there´s no way to make another "offline" profile. The locking mechanism should work in exactly the same way it does in other profiles, that is, the phone should lock after the set nr. of minutes.

Regards,

Hendikoischnur

[kvirtanen]

Proof of concept:

I just tried the Offline Mode on my friend's N95 8GB and the phone didn't get locked.

So why is that in the case of E71? The lock is needless IMO because a separate locking feature is present in the profiles menu (press the power button) :/

[kvirtanen]

Sorry I was just writing a reply and didn't notice yours

yes, the phone locks right away after pressing the Offline Mode. They're combined. The 'feature' has been present in all firmware versions (I now have the 200.21.118, reinstalled twice).

[hendikoischnur]

Well,

in that case I would recommend you take the phone to a store - but I doubt they can do much about such an "undocumented feature" - what good is the flight mode then? What happens if you switch on this profile and enter the code to unlock the phone subsequently?

Regards,

Hendikoischnur

[kvirtanen]

Well, the result is a normal Offline Mode. All connectivities are disconnected. All that bothers me is the security lock in between that I can't disable.. If I disable the security code prompt altogether I doubt that I can use the normal 'Lock Phone' feature anymore (I might be wrong EDIT: It can't be disabled, sorry ). I sent a query to Nokia customer care.

Message Edited by kvirtanen on 11-Mar-2009 01:19 PM

[hendikoischnur]

Yup, that seems like the only thing to do. Definitely a bug in the operating system. Try the forum search, though. There are constantly people with E71 having problems with one feature or another, phone lock is a quite common subject. Maybe you´ll find something.

Regards,

Hendikoischnur

[kvirtanen]

Yeah, thanks ..! I'll keep you updated about how things go.

[sujit_md]

@kvirtanen i own an E71 and i can confirm that my phone does not go into lock mode as soon as i switch on the offline mode... Infact i put my phone to offline mode everynight before going to bed and the phone does not get locked automatically.  it must be a bug or a software error in your phone that is causing this

-Sujit

[kvirtanen]

@Sujit: wow, thanks for the information, it must be a bug in my Finnish firmware then :0 of all the firmware versions...

Btw, I also put the phone to Offline Mode for the night, but I have to enter the security code every time to be able to access the Clock and dial an alarm for the next morning.

I now have developed a habit of setting the alarm first and then putting the phone to Offline Mode.

Message Edited by kvirtanen on 11-Mar-2009 01:48 PM

[kvirtanen]

@Sujit_md: You say your E71 doesn't lock itself when you access Offline Mode. Do you have a custom Security Code or have you left it intact, so that it is still the default 12345?

My Finnish friend's E71 also locks if he puts it to Offline Mode. He has got a custom Security Code the same way as I have.

Please report back. If you have left the security code intact, the fact that the phone doesn't lock itself might be just because of that fact.

The problem arises when one has already changed the security code to something else and thus enabled it. There's not much of a way to disable it afterwards. 

I tried the three-button hard reset and my security code still persists and I'm stuck with a locking Offline Mode. 

If you're interested, please read the conclusion on the following thread:

/discussions/board/message?board.id=communicators&message.id=36987#M36987

[kvirtanen]

My friend reported that his colleague also has a Finnish E71 and a custom Security Code, but his phone doesn't lock when accessing Offline Mode. This is getting really strange.

[sujit_md]

i have a custom lock code set for my phone buddy

-Sujit

[kvirtanen]

The official responce from Nokia was that the phone shouldn't lock in Offline Mode in any circumstances (custom Security Code or not). Would you like to add your info to my poll about this particular phenomenon? It's here: /discussions/board/message?board.id=communicators&thread.id=36999

[kvirtanen · Accepted solution]

*sigh* OK.
I did some digging and testing and finally found a solution/cause.

Since this is a lenghty thread, I'll just cut to the chase: after turning off the Remote Lock feature, the Offline Mode works normally again. No more Lock Mode + Offline Mode.

I still don't see the benefit in that and I still would like to have my Remote Lock enabled, but for the time being this is THE solution for removing the mandatory lock code scribbling. And I still suspect it's a bug.

Nokia suggested to format my phone or leave it to the Service Center guys - luckily I didn't do either.

I've sent them email again and I'll report what they come up with.

[kvirtanen]

I got a good answer from Nokia, and they said that the reason for the lock in Offline Mode when the Remote Locking is enabled is simply that the Remote Lock wouldn't work when the phone isn't connected to the carrier (it's based on SMS). To increase the level of security, the Security Code is required to access the phone.

[usmanfarhat007]

Thanks! Now i get it why nokia is doing this!